A palladium-catalyzed Suzuki coupling reaction of nitroarenes has been developed using 5-(2,4,6-triisopropylphenyl)-2,3-imidazolylidene[1,5-a]pyridines as the ligands.

Intramolecular sp(3) C-H insertion reaction of α-imino rhodium carbene generated from N-sulfonyl-1,2,3-triazoles has been described. A number of 2,3-dihydrobenzofuran and benzofuran derivatives have been obtained in good to excellent yields.

Rhodium(iii)-catalyzed alkylation reactions of arenes through triazole directed C–H activation that lead to a number of dialkylated and monoalkylated triazoles are described.

An intramolecular sp 3 C−H amination reaction of aniline derivatives has been established. This reaction employs molecular iodine (I 2 ) under transition-metal-free conditions and produces 1,2-fused or 1,2-disubstituted benzimidazoles. This operationally simple synthetic process works well with N-substituted aniline substrates, forming novel benzimidazolium frameworks. Under the optimal reaction conditions, a broad variety of 1,2fused/disubstituted benzimidazoles and benzimidazolium salts, including several bioactive compounds, were synthesized from readily accessible precursors in an efficient and scalable fashion.